Ex-Vacaville Unified School District official Steven Shields pleads no contest to single count of possession of child porn

A former Vacaville Unified School District administrator pleaded no contest to a single count of possession of child pornography on Friday in Solano County Superior Court.

Steven Shields, 44, was arrested at the Vacaville Unified School District headquarters in November 2011 by Walnut Creek police following a search of a Clayton home where he had been staying, police said at the time. Hired in July 2011 as VUSD's assistant superintendent of business and administrative services, Shields resigned in March of last year amid the child pornography allegations.

On Friday, Shields entered the no-contest plea to one felony count of possessing child pornography, in exchange for prosecutors dropping a second related count, officials said.

At the time of his arrest, Walnut Creek police Sgt. Tom Cashion said that the offending material was found on Shields' personal laptop. School officials in Vacaville also stated that the investigation did not involve Shields' work computer.

Shields will be required to register as a sex offender, according to officials. He was ordered back to the Fairfield courtroom of Judge E. Bradley Nelson at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 1 for sentencing.